Silly, silly self-imposed challenges

I decided last weekend that I would declare this the "Year of Garments" for my personal knitting. The last weekend in February isn't a typical time of year to set a goal or make a resolution but I think these things should be done when you're ready to do them not when a date on the calendar tells you you should. My goal is five garments for myself this year, I think that is both a challenging and yet reasonable number. What is perhaps more unreasonable is the first part of this mission...

Late last week I finally cast-on Georgia by Jane Richmond in SweetGeorgia Tough Love Sock. I'd been planning to knit this for a while and I decided I really wanted to be able to wear it when I head to h+h in Cologne in a couple of weeks. A fingering weight cardigan in a size x-large with an extra long body and arms in four weeks - why the hell not?

The really nice thing about this pattern is that it is knit top-down in one piece and the button band and button holes are knit as you go. There is no fancy neckline to pick up later either, so the only finishing I will need to do is some weaving in of ends and sewing on of buttons. I've managed to pick out my buttons already too, I'm using two colors of small round buttons from Textile Garden. I'd highly recommend this pattern to someone looking to make their first adult garment for it's well written instructions and simple construction.

I'm well into the second ball now and I have made a plan as to how much I need to knit each day to finish this within my deadline. I will only need four skeins in total as there are a whopping 425yds / 388m in each 115g skein. The yarn is knitting up so nicely and I LOVE the color which are great motivators to keep going. One of the things I love about a lot of the SweetGeorgia colors is the super subtle color variations, Bewitched is full of rich purple tones that really pick up the light.

I'm keeping this post short and sweet as I really need to get back to the actual knitting of this lovely cardigan. I'll tell you all about the other garments I have planned for myself soon.

Do you ever make silly challenges for yourself on projects like this or is it just me?

- Carmen